It is known to use optical resonators and fibers for many purposes.
Optical resonators can take many different shapes including Bragg reflective waveguide cavities, Fabry-Perot cavities, ring resonators, and disk resonators. Each of these elements includes a resonant cavity which supports wavelength dependent resonancexe2x80x94the ability to constructively interfere with the optical energy of the resonant wavelength. Once optical energy of the specified resonant wavelength, e.g., light, is coupled into the cavity, the light may remain in the cavity and move over long distances within the cavity in random directions.
The present application teaches a special kind of optical resonator which includes an xe2x80x9cactivexe2x80x9d cladding, causing optical amplification.
In a preferred embodiment, optically active cladding components are added to optical components, e.g., integrated waveguides and optical resonator structures. Applications may include optical filtering, optical switching, and optical amplification.